Yoga- Health Benefits Says Science
Has yoga gone mainstream in America? Well, it’s certainly not for just celebrities anymore. More and more people in this country are discovering the health benefits of a regular yoga practice. A list rattled off by Sat Bir Singh Khalsa of Harvard Medical School and the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston of problems with which yoga has been found (by research) to help seems endless (anxiety, depression, weight loss/management, sleep, back and neck pain, digestion, blood pressure, etc.). Sounds somewhat like a cure-all, doesn’t it? Experts in the art, however, are very careful not to make claims like that, but research has shown that yoga can boost the immune system, reduce stress, and help you handle all sorts of stress and pain more effectively, even those associated with cancer, improving quality of life. That benefit alone (stress relief) would seem to make yoga a positive goal on everyone’s list.
The US National Institutes of Health tells us that the proper practice of yoga features a combination of posture, breathing, body awareness, relaxation, and meditation. And it’s important for novices to find a good instructor who puts the right balance of emphasis on these three: posture, breathing, and meditation. Want a healthier body? Add yoga to your life.